Unions

By Chris Robinson Delegates to the National Convention of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) passed two significant resolutions, which will allow local unions to encourage their members to vote for independent political candidates, including those from the Green Party. The meeting of more than 1,000 union members took place during the last week of October in St. Louis, MO. In the past, labor unions have, with few exceptions, endorsed electoral candidates from the two corporate parties. These politicians kowtow to the interests of corporations and the wealthy. Because of the expense of electoral campaigns,…

Jacobin By Jon Flanders and Peter Lavenia In the fall of 2016, a group of chemical workers decided to go on strike. About seven hundred largely white and male members of IUE-CWA Local 81359, located in the small upstate town of Waterford, New York, suddenly drew attention from labor, the Left, and national media as the 2016 election came to a close. At a time when media attention had turned to the “forgotten” rural industrial workers whom both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump courted in the sagging small towns of the United States, the rowdy picketing and glowing burn barrels…